SUPPORTS ITEM NO. 2
CS&B COMMITTEE AGENDA
NOVEMBER 7, 1996
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: October 22, 1996
TO: Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets
FROM: Director, Office of Cultural Affairs
SUBJECT: 1996 Cross-Cultural Initiatives Grants
RECOMMENDATION
THAT Council approve grants totalling $50,000 to 15
organizations, as listed in Table 1; source of funds to be
the Cross-Cultural Initiatives category of the 1996 Cultural
Grants budget.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager of Community Services submits the foregoing
for CONSIDERATION.
COUNCIL POLICY
On February 1, 1996, City Council approved an allocation of $50,000 in
the 1996 Cultural Grants budget for the Cross-Cultural Initiatives
Fund. The purpose of the fund is to support initiatives in the arts
that promote dialogue and co-operation between distinct communities.
Approval of grant recommendations requires eight affirmative votes.
PURPOSE
The Office of Cultural Affairs has received 21 applications totalling
$123,515 for 1996 Cross-Cultural grants. This report provides an
overview of these applications, describes the evaluation criteria
applied, and recommends grants to 15 of the applicants.
SUMMARY
Table 1, which follows, summarizes the Director of the Office of
Cultural Affairs' recommendations for 1996 Cross-Cultural grants.
Appendix A provides a description of the 15 projects recommended for
funding. Appendix B describes the six projects not recommended for
funding. Appendix C provides a detailed description of the guidelines
and criteria for the Cross-Cultural Initiatives program.
Table 1 - RECOMMENDATIONS
Amount Amount
Organization Requested Recommended
African-Canadian Artists
Society of B.C. $ 9,900 $ 0
Arts Club Theatre 10,000 6,000
*
Art Starts in Schools 6,000 6,000
Chinese Cultural Centre 6,000 3,000
*
Edgewise Cafe 2,000 1,000
Firehall Arts Centre 2,500 2,500
Imaginary Enclave Theatrical Society 6,650 5,000
India Music Society 3,500 1,000
Japanese Canadian Studies Society 5,000 0
Main Dance Projects Society 4,145 4,000
New Performance Works Society 10,000 5,000
New Orchestra Workshop 5,000 1,000
Norman Rothstein Theatre 9,420 3,000
Satellite Video Exchange Society 7,000 0
Savage Media 4,380 0
Theatre Terrific Society 6,520 4,000
Uzume Taiko 2,500 0
Vancouver Art Forum Society 5,000 3,500
Vancouver Art Gallery 10,000 2,500
*
View the Performing Arts Society 3,000 0
Visible Arts Society/Grunt Gallery 5,000 2,500
*
TOTAL $123,515 $50,000
* These grants are conditional, as detailed in Appendix A.
Approval of the recommendations in Table 1 will leave no unallocated
balance in the Cross-Cultural component of the 1996 Cultural Grants
budget.
BACKGROUND
The City of Vancouver set up the Cross-Cultural Initiatives Fund in
1990 as an incentive program to encourage initiatives in the arts
promoting dialogue and collaboration between distinct communities in
Vancouver. The program is designed to support new or recent
initiatives that are not part of an applicant's normal programming or
services (which can be funded through civic operating or project
grants). Project and Operating grants are available to a wide range
of culturally diverse arts organizations.
Over the past six years, the Cross-Cultural program has supported a
total of 82 projects by cultural organizations working in a range of
disciplines. The projects have expanded the information and resources
available to artists and organizations interested in working with
distinct communities; encouraged outreach and dialogue between
communities; facilitated new employment opportunities through
training; and fostered new artistic partnerships and creation.
DISCUSSION
As in previous years, the applications received for 1996 have been
reviewed by a committee of three Office of Cultural Affairs staff and
two advisors knowledgeable about the multicultural community. Grants
are recommended for 15 of the 21 applications from performing, visual
and other arts organizations.
In making these recommendations, the focus has been on projects that:
- have a clear and well-developed plan of action and budget;
- have a clearly defined cross-cultural component eligible for
funding through the Cross-Cultural program;
- represent a new or recent step in cross-cultural develop-ment
for the applicant, additional to the organization's ongoing
activities and operating costs; and
- demonstrate appropriate community relevance and involve-ment,
and a potential for long-term benefits to the community, as well
as to the organization(s) involved.
A detailed description of the guidelines and criteria for the program
is presented in Appendix C.
* * * * *
APPENDIX A
1 of 5
RECOMMENDED PROJECTS
Arts Club Theatre
In addition to its regular season next year, the Arts Club is planning
to present two works by Japan's renowned theatre company, the Furano
Group. The local Japanese community has already expressed
considerable interest in this presentation. At the same time, because
the plays will be performed in Japanese with English surtitles, they
will be accessible to the broader Vancouver public. The Arts Club,
which is still raising funds for the initiative, has asked the City
for assistance with the costs of providing translation for talk-back
sessions after the performances, developing study guides, and other
expenses related to community outreach. Staff recommend a grant of
$6,000, subject to confirmation of adequate resources to proceed with
the project.
Requested: $10,000
Recommended: $ 6,000
Art Starts in Schools
Art Starts is a non-profit service organization that assists artists,
presenters and schools in programming arts for young audiences. It is
seeking funds for a project that will expand its database of artists
to include visual and performing artists from distinct communities in
Vancouver and result in a directory that will be made available to
Vancouver schools, community centres and other public institutions.
The project will also research and work to address systemic barriers
that prevent artists from distinct communities from participating
fully in the young people's market.
Requested: $ 6,000
Recommended: $ 6,000
Chinese Cultural Centre
The Chinese Cultural Centre (CCC) wishes to encourage fuller
participation by Chinese artists and arts groups in the cultural life
of the City. The CCC intends to gather information about the
Vancouver arts community and then serve as a host for meetings among
new artists and mainstream organizations. Staff support this
initiative and note that the CCC's own ability to deliver
collaborative arts programs may also be enhanced. A grant of $3,000
is recommended, subject to formation of an advisory committee to
support the project, including Cultural Centre Board members, staff
and Chinese-Canadian artists or curators.
Requested: $ 6,000
Recommended: $ 3,000
Appendix A
2 of 5
Edgewise Cafe and Electronic Literary Society
The Society presents "telepoetics" events in which live video and
audio linkages allow poets in different locations to read to several
audiences simultaneously. This project is an opportunity for a number
of Vancouver's First Nations poets to appear before a local audience,
plus an opportunity for these poets and their local audience to
interact with poets and audience members at the U'Mista Cultural
Centre in Alert Bay, B.C.
Requested: $ 2,000
Recommended $ 1,000
Firehall Arts Centre
As part of a joint initiative with a Winnipeg Native theatre company,
the Firehall Theatre is sponsoring a two-week workshop on approaches
to Shakespeare's text for local First Nations performers. There is
interest in Shakespeare among members of the First Nations community,
and the two organizations are planning a co-production of "A Winter's
Tale" next Fall. The workshop will be conducted by experienced
Shakespeare teachers, and will involve a minimum of 10 First Nations
participants, along with participants from other distinct communities.
Requested: $ 2,500
Recommended: $ 2,500
Imaginary Enclave Theatrical Society
Under the auspices of Imaginary Enclave Society, Neworld Players
Equity Co-op is developing an intercultural theatrical collaboration
featuring actors, musicians and dancers from several distinct
communities. The participating artists will explore different
cultural perspectives on the issues and emotions arising from an
ancient middle eastern story, with a view to presenting the piece
early next year. Neworld Players, which has a mandate to produce
works based in Persian folklore, is a young company and this will be
its first interdisciplinary collaboration.
Requested: $ 6,650
Recommended: $ 5,000
Appendix A
3 of 5
India Music Society
India Music Society is working in collaboration with several local
arts organizations, including Main Dance, Arts Umbrella, and the
Canadian Dance Teachers Association, to provide training and
cross-cultural workshop opportunities for local dance artists and
teachers in traditional Kathak dance. In addition, India Music will
work with the Norman Rothstein Theatre (see its application) in a
cross-cultural performance incorporating flamenco and Kathak dance.
Requested: $3,500
Recommended: $1,000
Main Dance Society
Since moving to its new home on East Hastings Street, Main Dance
Projects Society has worked with neighbourhood community centres and
associations (Strathcona, Britannia, Ray-Cam, Vancouver Aboriginal
Child & Family Services Society) to develop program opportunities for
neighbourhood teenagers. Its first program last summer focused on
breaking down barriers to participation by teaching accessible dance
forms. The program proposed for 1997 focuses on culturally diverse
training reflective of the community and creates an the opportunity to
share cultural traditions and increase cultural sensitivity and
understanding among participants.
Requested: $4,145
Recommended: $4,000
New Orchestra Workshop Society
Historically, NOW has worked out of the European and Afro-American
jazz traditions. It wishes to expand its reference points to include
artists from diverse cultural backgrounds. The goal is to provide
opportunities for all artists to work together to create an original
and inclusive, westcoast musical idiom. Funding is recommended for
Phase 1 of the project, which involves research and outreach to
identify participants. Phase 2 will be the presentation of a series of
improvisational workshops at the Western Front.
Requested: $5,000
Recommended: $1,000
Appendix A
4 of 5
New Performance Works Society
"Turning Point" is a multi-phased project which has been developed by
teenagers from distinct communities to explore media representation
about them, and to present their own perspectives and ideas. The final phase of this project will present a large-scale, outdoor
performance art event featuring hundreds of local teenage girls whose
issues, concerns and desires form the basis for the artwork, shape its
contents, and direct the image they will project to the public.
Requested: $10,000
Recommended: $ 5,000
Norman Rothstein Theatre
The Norman Rothstein Theatre at the Jewish Community Centre will bring
together local artists from the Hispanic, Indian, and Jewish
communities to explore the origins of Flamenco dance, believed to be
based in Indo-Pakistani, Byzantine, Jewish and Muslim cultural
traditions. Following a period of research and creation, the
collaborating artists -- a local cantor (Jewish Community Centre),
Rosario Ancer Flamenco Dance Company and a Kathak dancer (India Music
Society) -- will present an original work in a series of concerts at
the Norman Rothstein Theatre.
Requested: $9,420
Recommended: $3,000
Theatre Terrific Society
Theatre Terrific, whose mandate is "to enhance the visibility,
participation and public acceptance of people with disabilities", is
collaborating on a mainstage production with Theatre Bagger, which
specializes in clowning and physically based theatre. The play will
examine the history of persons with disabilities in the performing
arts (including circuses), and modern day perceptions arising from
this history. In preparation for the productions, the two companies
want to do a performance workshop that will introduce Theatre Bagger
to issues involving people with disabilities working in theatre, and
Theatre Terrific to contemporary clowning and physical theatre
techniques. They have requested a grant towards the costs of the
workshop.
Requested: $ 6,520
Recommended: $ 4,000
Vancouver Art Forum Society
Staff recommend support for the participation of two established
Vancouver artists, Sharyn Yuen and Jin-me Yoon in the Granville Island
Public Art Project. This large-scale event is scheduled for the
summer of 1997 and includes 10 public art installations by
international, national and local artists, as well as education
programs.
Appendix A
5 of 5
Yuen and Yoon propose to draw on the history of East Asian workers on
False Creek, and the experiences of East Asian market vendors on
Granville Island today, in order to draw a contrast with the
stereotype of the "wealthy Asian" being applied to people now settling
around False Creek. Like the other installations in this event, this
project will be accompanied by an education program of tours,
workshops and lectures, enabling further exploration and discussion of
the themes raised by these two artists.
Requested: $ 5,000
Recommended: $ 3,500
Vancouver Art Gallery
The Gallery has asked for a grant toward a symposium accompanying the
exhibition "Contemporary Art in Asia: Traditions/Tensions". Scheduled
for spring 1997, the symposium brings together international artists
associated with the exhibition, curators, critics, members of the
Vancouver arts community, students and the interested public. Among
other topics, the symposium will address ways to understand the
process of art-making outside of a strictly European focus, and the
tension between international art and cultural identity based on
traditions. A $2,500 grant is recommended, subject to confirmation
of Vancouver artists' participation in symposium panels and on the
Community Advisory Committee established by the Gallery to develop the
event.
Requested: $ 10,000
Recommended $ 2,500
Visible Arts Society/Grunt Gallery
A grant of $2,500 is recommended toward the research and
administrative costs of developing a multi-media exhibition about the
effect of HIV/AIDS on the visual arts in Vancouver. Work in the
exhibition will be by visual artists from a variety of cultural
backgrounds who are HIV positive. The project would provide a voice
for what is frequently a marginalized group, and may be the first time
that an exhibition by Vancouver visual artists with AIDS and dealing
with this subject is held in the city.
To ensure inclusiveness, funding is subject to evidence of active
support by AIDS Vancouver, BCPWA, Healing our Spirit, Positive Women's
Network, and organizations dealing with AIDS in the Asian community.
Requested: $ 5,000
Recommended: $ 2,500
* * * * *
APPENDIX B
1 of 2
REQUESTS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR FUNDING
African-Canadian Artists Society of B.C.
This recently incorporated Society proposes developing a directory of
African-Canadian artists, with the objective of encouraging bookings
from concert presenters, gallery curators, and schools. Since the
Society is in its start-up phase, it was not able to show support
from the African Canadian community, or indicate other sources of
funds for this project. Staff will continue to work with the Society
so it can more effectively address these issues.
Requested: $9,900
Recommended: $ 0
Japanese Canadian Studies Society
The Society has requested a grant for a full-scale musical production
of "Rosie's Cafe", which examines a complex of relationships in the
Japanese Canadian community over 30 years. Staff note that it has been
the City's practice to fund projects relating to specific communities
through the Project Grants category, rather than the Cross-Cultural
fund, which focuses on intercultural activities. Therefore, staff are
recommending that the Japanese Canadian Society apply to the City for
a 1997 Project grant later this year. The production is planned for
Fall 1997 or Spring 1998.
Requested: $5,000
Recommended: $ 0
Satellite Video Exchange Society
Support was requested for "Hong Kong/Vancouver 1997", a three-day
program of screenings, artist talks, and workshops to discuss
migration of cultural ideas and images, with a focus on the
relationship between Hong Kong and Vancouver. The project and the
presenting organizations are excellent; however, a cross-cultural
grant was already provided to the umbrella organization for this and
related projects in 1995.
Requested: $7,000
Recommended: $ 0
Appendix B
2 of 2
Savage Media Society
This Burnaby-based company wishes to provide an opportunity for First
Nations artist, Marie Humber Clements, to direct her own work under a
mentorship program with Savage Media's artistic director. As the
project will be created and presented in Burnaby, staff do not
recommend funding.
Requested: $4,380
Recommended: $ 0
Uzume Taiko Drum Group Society
Uzume Taiko have asked for assistance with creation and presentation
of a work for taiko drum and string quartet. They are also planning,
in coming years, to develop a series of concerts featuring ensembles
from distinct cultural traditions. Staff do not believe that the
current proposal has been sufficiently developed to support at this
time, and recommend that the Society work to develop the proposed
concert series, rather than a single event.
Requested: $2,500
Recommended: $ 0
View the Performing Arts Society
Women in View, in conjunction with Full Circle: First Nations
Performance Society, are seeking funds to develop a database of First
Nations communities, organizations and contacts in the Lower Mainland.
Such a database would assist both organizations with audience
development and community outreach. Staff note, however, that much of
the information has already been compiled elsewhere, for example, in
the provincial government's "Guide to Aboriginal Organizations and
Services in B.C."
Requested: $3,000
Recommended: $ 0
* * * * *